Following the introduction of long term evolution (LTE) technology, which is marketed as an advanced fourth generation mobile cellular network technology, there is an increased demand for wirelessly accessing internet resources. There is also an increase in the number of mobile broadband devices, for example, smartphones, feature phones, tablets, etc., used for accessing the internet resources. The increased demand to access the internet resources and to service the increased number of mobile broadband devices has led to network congestion and deterioration of network quality. Network congestion results, for example, from signalling overload and data overload on a cellular wireless communication network. The signalling overload results from polling of the cellular wireless communication network by the mobile broadband devices for updated information related to downloaded applications. The data overload results from proliferation of mobile broadband devices and unlimited mobile data bundles offered by cellular network operators. Moreover, increased data traffic on the cellular wireless communication network poses challenges to a backhaul between a base station and the cellular wireless communication network.
Measures are implemented by cellular network operators to ensure resilience of cellular wireless communication networks to cope with the increasing demand of data usage from mobile broadband devices. For example, for signalling overload, mechanisms are devised to control the frequency of switching of a mobile broadband device between an idle mode and an active mode. Data offloading is one of the strategies for reducing network congestion to resolve the issue of data overload along with scaling and optimisation of the cellular wireless communication network. Apart from reducing congestion in the cellular wireless communication network, data offloading also provides cost savings on mobile data services and higher bandwidth availability to users. To cater to the explosion in mobile data traffic, there is a need for offloading data from a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum. Various options for offloading data are available to the cellular network operators. Of the available technologies for data offloading from the cellular wireless communication network, a wireless network that implements Wi-Fi® of Wi-Fi Alliance Corporation, herein referred to as a “Wi-Fi network”, is the choice for offloading data as Wi-Fi technology is ubiquitous, implemented on mobile broadband devices, and works on the unlicensed spectrum.
In a typical cellular wireless communication network setup, user devices communicate with core network elements of the cellular wireless communication network via a radio base station to access the internet and intranet for data. A cellular wireless communication interface between the user device and the base station is a wireless wide area network (WWAN) interface, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) interface. Mobile data is transmitted and received in the form of data packets in the cellular wireless communication network. With the increase in the data traffic in the cellular wireless communication network, the base station offloads the data to wireless communication interfaces of the Wi-Fi network, herein referred to as “Wi-Fi interfaces”, between user devices and wireless access points of the Wi-Fi network herein referred to as “Wi-Fi access points”.
A backhaul between the base station and a core network of the cellular wireless communication network is wired and employs physical media comprising, for example, copper wires, hybrid fiber-coaxial cables, and single-mode and multimode fiber optic cables. There is a need to setup a network where the backhaul may not be available and where it may not be possible to install base stations or wireless access points, for example, Wi-Fi access points at specific locations, for example, emergency public safety networks, stadiums, other venues where a large number of persons are present, and for connecting user devices to the internet where the locations of the user devices make it difficult to install the base station at an optimal location or to have a typical wired backhaul to the core network. With the exponential growth in high speed mobile data traffic, wireless backhaul is preferred by cellular network operators, for example, in emergency public safety networks, stadiums, and other venues where a large number of persons are present, because the wireless backhaul allows base stations to be installed in locations where wired connections are not available. The wireless backhaul results in low operating and maintenance costs to the cellular network operators while providing mobile data services to remote or ad hoc locations. Wireless backhauls utilize wireless solutions, for example, Wi-Fi® and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX®) of the WiMAX forum. Wi-Fi backhauls allow multi-hop communication for long distance communication and result in low operating costs. Wi-Fi backhauls are used, for example, where a wired backhaul connection is not feasible and where base station installation or Wi-Fi access point installation is not feasible at certain locations, for example, at stadiums, venues where a large number or persons are present, emergency public safety networks, etc. The recent technology of the internet of things is possible with the Wi-Fi backhaul that allows the base station to be installed closer to the user devices that may be present in inaccessible locations. These user devices may not have battery replacement options and hence require an extended battery life to communicate with the base station. The base station is therefore required to be installed closer to the user devices so that the user devices do not expend a lot of power to transmit data to the base station.
Since the backhaul demands multiple hops over large distances and since installation of base stations at flexible locations is a pressing need, there is a need for deploying wireless access networks, for example, Wi-Fi access networks to address the Wi-Fi backhaul need. In a Wi-Fi access network, multiple Wi-Fi access points are connected to each other over Wi-Fi interfaces in a topology, for example, a mesh topology. These Wi-Fi access points route data packets between user devices and the base station and use a Wi-Fi backhaul to the core network. Wi-Fi access networks, because of their flexible architecture, reduce the investment cost for building infrastructure with Wi-Fi access points that cover areas to be served by cellular network operators. Wi-Fi access networks forward data packets over large distances by splitting the distance into a series of short hops between intermediate nodes, that is, intermediate Wi-Fi access points. The intermediate Wi-Fi access points in the Wi-Fi access network boost the Wi-Fi signal and route data packets in the Wi-Fi access network.
There is a need to address multiple aspects of implementation of offloading mobile data from a cellular wireless communication interface, for example, the long term evolution (LTE) interface, of the cellular wireless communication network to Wi-Fi interfaces associated with Wi-Fi access points of the Wi-Fi access network. One aspect is deployment of Wi-Fi access points outdoors. The cost of developing or leasing infrastructure to deploy Wi-Fi access points affects the installation cost of the Wi-Fi access network and affects the backhaul choice. Another requirement for offloading mobile data from the LTE interface to the Wi-Fi interfaces associated with the Wi-Fi access points of the Wi-Fi access network is seamless switching between the cellular wireless communication network and the Wi-Fi access network and smooth routing of data traffic in the Wi-Fi access network. An additional aspect of concern is battery consumption of user devices located in inapproachable locations for communicating with the base station of the cellular wireless communication network.
Moreover, there are challenges in mechanisms that implement offloading of mobile data from the cellular wireless communication interface to wireless interfaces of a heterogeneous wireless access network. A heterogeneous wireless access network is a wireless access network that employs devices that use different radio access technologies, for example, Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® of Bluetooth Sig, Inc., etc. These devices act as intermediate nodes in the heterogeneous wireless access network and communicate with each other over heterogeneous wireless interfaces, for example, a Wi-Fi interface, a Bluetooth interface, etc. On using a heterogeneous wireless access network to offload mobile data, the mobility of a user device is constrained and leads to significant delays in data routing. In a heterogeneous wireless access network, user devices are intended to remain in close vicinity to the intermediate nodes, for example, the wireless access points of the heterogeneous wireless access network while using mobile data services, to avoid draining of the battery of each user device. Employing a Wi-Fi access network will counter mobility issues of user devices while offloading mobile data. A Wi-Fi access network operates in a homogeneous manner, where all the intermediate nodes, for example, the Wi-Fi access points within the Wi-Fi access network communicate with each other using a Wi-Fi protocol. In a typical cellular wireless communication network, cellular network operators that manage offloading of the mobile data to Wi-Fi interfaces of the Wi-Fi access network are not aware of traffic conditions on the Wi-Fi interfaces of the Wi-Fi access network. Offloading of mobile data to a Wi-Fi interface with heavy load causes congestion in the Wi-Fi access network. The congestion in the Wi-Fi access network induces latency in routing of data packets between the core network and the user device. This will result in a poor user experience in streaming related applications. To offload and route mobile data from a cellular wireless communication network to a homogeneous Wi-Fi access network, there is a need for a selection mechanism in the Wi-Fi access network that interacts with a data offload system to optimally select wireless communication interfaces, where the selection mechanism possesses knowledge of routes and hops in the Wi-Fi access network and decides on an optimal path to route the mobile data to a destination.
Hence, there is a long felt need for a method and a system for dynamically selecting and monitoring one or more wireless communication interfaces, for example, Wi-Fi interfaces associated with one or more Wi-Fi access points in a Wi-Fi access network for offloading data from a cellular wireless communication interface between a user device and a base station in a cellular wireless communication network to the selected Wi-Fi interfaces in the Wi-Fi access network to meet quality of service requirements of the data. Moreover, there is a need for a method and a system for allowing offloading of data from a cellular wireless communication interface to Wi-Fi interfaces in a Wi-Fi access network by optimally routing the data between nodes, that is, between the Wi-Fi access points in the Wi-Fi access network based on the latency permissible to the data packets being forwarded and the number of hops between intermediate Wi-Fi access points in the Wi-Fi access network required for the forwarded data packets to reach a destination. Furthermore, there is a need for a method and a system for allowing offloading of data from the cellular wireless communication interface in the cellular wireless communication network to the Wi-Fi interfaces in the Wi-Fi access network while supporting mobility of user devices and data offloading due to wide geographical area coverage by the Wi-Fi access network and reducing power consumption of the user devices by using base stations and Wi-Fi access points installed closer to the user devices.